It's a good thing Hanley Ramirez had a good swing left in him so the bullpen didn't have a chance to blow another lead.
After the Cubs tied the game in the ninth off of Kenley Jansen, Ramirez lined a walk-off single into left to score Matt Kemp and give the Dodgers a 7-6 victory. The walk-off also gave the streaky Dodgers a three-game sweep... which came right after getting swept in three, which came right after sweeping three from the Giants, which came right after dropping three to the Cardinals, which came right after winning five straight, which came right after losing four straight.
You get the point. The Dodgers do things in bunches.
Back to this one, and it was newly acquired Joe Blanton who made his Dodger debut. The Cubs greeted him rudely in the first. David DeJesus walked leading off, which must have been the result of some nerves considering Blanton had only walked 15 all year to that point. A groundout got DeJesus to second, and Anthony Rizzo's RBI single made it 1-0.
Like the night before, it took awhile for the offense to come alive. It happened in the fifth, as James Loney singled to left with one out in a rare piece of opposite field hitting. A.J. Ellis continued his big series with a double to the wall in left center, and Loney rumbled his way home to make it 1-1.
That lead was short-lived, as Welington Castillo launched a big fly into deep center with two outs in the sixth, and the Cubs were back up 2-1.
The Dodgers fought right back in the bottom half with a three spot. Mark Ellis was beaned with one out. Alberto Cabrera relieved to pitch to Kemp, who easily walked. Andre Ethier struck out, but Ramirez also walked to load the bases.
Scott Maine came in to pitch to the lefty Loney, but Don Mattingly turned to Juan Rivera instead. On a full count, Rivera took ball four inside to force in a run and make it 2-2. Luis Cruz got another clutch hit with a two-run single, and the Dodgers were in control at 4-2.
It was bullpen time now, as Brandon League came on for the hold. Darwin Barney greeted him with a single before Josh Vitters flew out. With three straight lefties due up, Mattingly called on his only southpaw, Randy Choate. Needless to say, it wasn't pretty. DeJesus took another walk and Brett Jackson singled to load the bases. Rizzo hit a sac-fly RBI, and it was 4-3.
Now it was Javy Guerra's turn to get a big out. Instead, Alfonso Soriano smoked a two-run double to left, and all of a sudden the Cubs were back up 5-4. Guerra ended up walking Starlin Castro before striking out Castillo for the final out.
Back-and-forth we went, as the Dodgers grabbed the lead right back. Manny Corpas came on and struck out Tony "Not Even Close To My Dad" Gwynn. Ellis then drew a walk and Kemp singled for runners on the corners.
Out went Corpas and in came James Russell to pitch to Ethier. Ethier battled and lined a two-run double to right center, and the Dodgers were back up 6-5.
Ronald Belisario pitched the eighth and wiggled out of trouble, as he allowed the first two hitters to reach before keeping them there. He still doesn't look good, or like someone who should automatically pitch the eighth. But as you can see, the other choices aren't much better, if at all.
Now it came down to Jansen, looking for his 23rd save. Rizzo wasn't hearing any of that, as he lifted a long fly ball just out of the reach of Ethier into the bullpen in right, making it 6-6 and a whole new game.
The only positive was that the beef of the Dodgers' order was due up, and Kemp drew a walk with one out. Ethier found room to single into right, as Kemp went to third. After a conference on the mound, Ramirez lined the first pitch he saw off of Shawn Camp into left to end it.
As a baseball fan, this was definitely an entertaining game to watch. Both Blanton and Justin Germano pitched well the first half of the game. The bullpens, on the other hand, were terrible. As bad as I thought the Dodgers were, the Cubs were even worse. Pretty ugly stuff from both sides.
Blanton had a good start to his Dodgers' career, going six innings for five hits, two runs, three walks, and five strikeouts. He wasn't thrilled with missing some borderline pitches from home plate umpire Dale Scott, as even three walks is unlike him. But he more than did his job, and for one start anyway, looks like a solid addition to the rotation.
The bullpen is still unsettled, and boy do they need to get better if the Dodgers want to win anything going forward. The combination of League, Choate, Guerra, Belisario, and Jansen pitched the final three innings, giving up four runs on four hits and three walks, while striking out four. Maybe it was just a bad day, but all five men were shaky at one point or another, and aren't exactly giving fans much confidence. At least not this fan.
But a win is a win, and with the Giants winning again, the Dodgers remain a 1/2 game back in the NL West. The homestand will conclude with a three-game set against the Rockies starting Monday. Chris Capuano has been slapped around his last two starts, so he'll look to get things going again in the first game.
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